After their talk, Tubbo accompanied Ranboo and his groceries home as the two talked. Sure, the taller boy could have just teleported, but this was more entertaining as they made each other laugh. Plus, it gave Toby the extra reassurance that his friend was ok. As soon as they made it there, they said goodbye, and parted ways for the night.

After doing a quick perimeter sweep, just to be safe, he went home himself. It wasn't until he was back in his pajamas and laying down to sleep that he realized his head was starting to throb. Damn- he really hated these headaches, though this one wasn't too bad, just annoying at this point. He opted to ignore it. It was probably just from using his powers so much after not using them for years...he tried to ignore it as he drifted off to sleep.

That next day followed the standard routine. Wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast (and take something for your headache if needed), walk to school with Tommy (who would often ramble about random nonsense, from what girls he liked in their grade or what music he was listening to.) School went smoothly. Ranboo and Tubbo gave each other a look that luckily the others were too distracted to notice. They had their classes, got some homework, then Tommy and Toby said goodbye to their friends and headed home.

"What do you think of this new hero, Toby?" Tommy asked as they made their way home, "I haven't really heard your opinion on him"

Toby started a bit, before thening to his brother, "Oh I don't know, I think he's kind of cool I guess. I dunno...he's still kind of new, he's bound to make mistakes right?"

Tommy waved a hand, "Everyone makes mistakes, even heroes. You know how many times Techno has burned down a government building?"

"Were all of those accidents though..?"

"Hm, well maybe not all of them, but definitely some!"

"But what about Tubbo's power...controlling people...that's kind of scary isn't it?"

Tommy shrugged, "I mean, it would be if he were a villain maybe, but he's not. He uses his powers for good, so I can't really complain, can I? Someone's powers don't determine whether they're a good person, y'know? You worry too much Toby."

Toby couldn't help but stare at his brother after this surprising, almost heartfelt sentiment. Be smiled

"Well I suppose you're right..that was really sweet Tommy."

Then Tommy seemed to realize he had an image to uphold, shrugging and crossing his arms while putting on a scowl. "Yeah, well, if powers did determine personality or whatever then Techno would be even more insufferable than he already is-"

He paused, seeming to think, before adding, "also if you tell anyone I got all sentimental I'll end you-"

Toby laughed at that as they kept walking home.

"Seriously, I will murder you! I have a reputation to keep!"

-

They made it home after that with no trouble, and after a few hours doing homework (and doing stuff that was actually enjoyable for a little bit) they were called down to help set up for dinner. They faced down the stairs, which earned them both a look from Kristin. Wilbur was setting plates while Phil was pulling the food out of the oven. However, their pink haired brother was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Techno?" Tommy asked.

"Out on patrol still I assume" Wilbur answered, going to get silverware, "He texted me earlier saying that he might be late...something about him having a bad feeling something's gonna happen. You know how he gets."

Both Tommy and Toby nodded. Techno would stay out late on a bad feeling, patrolling into the morning. And the crazy part was that usually he was right. It was almost a second power of his, though Toby was pretty sure he just had good intuition or something. The first time it had happened he hadn't texted anyone, and caused a small panic in Philza and Kristin. He'd ended up fighting and apprehending members of a group that were planning on planting a bomb.

That has been one of his "breakthrough hero moments" as Wilbur had called it. Not all the times had been as drastic as that, bank robbers, muggers, but he still never ignored the feeling. He'd gotten better at communicating with them about it, well, communicating with Will at least, who told the rest of them.

"Well, we'll save some for him, and if he gets home late he can help himself." Kristin said, having gotten used to Technos hero antics at this point. For the most part at least.

They sat down and started eating. Techno still didn't get home until later. An hour or so after dinner, he finally made it home, stumbling through the back door.

"Techno? You alright mate?" Phil immediately was at his side, Will quickly making his way to Techno's other side.

"I've been better, but hey, could be worse-"

Tommy and Tubbo rushed over to see if he was ok, but Kristen shooed them away, but not before Toby saw that his sleeves were charred and his hands were burned fairly badly.

"Turn on the news, they should be running the story-" Techno called from behind them, and the two younger boys ran to the living room, Tommy grabbing the remote and turning the tv on, searching for the news. As Toby read the headline, his stomach dropped.

L'MANBERG POWER REGISTRIES BROKEN INTO, VILLAIN SCHLATT PRIME SUSPECT

A reporter was stood in front of the registry, which had a large hole that seemed to have been caused by something bursting out of the building, like a blast, in the middle of talking about the situation

"Security footage was knocked out, but not before the cameras were able to get a small glance at the culprit"

A grainy image of someone reaching for the camera flashed onto the screen. The white Ram horns were unmistakable even when they were grainy and blurred. Schlatt. What was he doing at the power registries?

"It's unclear what he was there for, as nothing was reported as missing, however a note was recovered inside, suspected to be from the villain though it wasn't signed, which claims that 'someone is lying'. It is still unknown why the note was left. The Hero Technoblade made it to the scene and engaged in a battle, though Schlatt managed to get away."

"Not without a few new burns he didn't-" Techno grunted, coming up from behind them and plopping himself in the cushy armchair with a wince. His arms had been treated, though Toby could hear Wilbur and Kristin debating whether they should take him to the hospital. Phil took the remote from Tommy, seeing the looks of shock, and in Toby's case a little horror, and changing the channel.

"Enough of that-" he said, glancing at Techno, "And you, take it easy for a few days, alright?"

"Alright..." Techno groaned, "But I am fine, really-"

"You're always fine-" Wilbur scowled, sitting on one of the arms of the chair next to his twin, crossing his arms. He always acted annoyed when Techno came home with injuries from fighting or burns from over using his own power, but Toby knew he was just worried.

"I'll take it easy" Techno put his hands up in surrender, "at least for a few days, I promise..."

"I'll be holding you to that-" Kristen said, ruffling his and Wilburs hair.

Toby chuckled, before turning his attention back to the TV. It was a local talk show, and a low quality image of...him was on screen. Well, Tubbo, but same difference. He immediately tuned in to what they were saying.

"I'm just saying, a power like that, I wouldn't be surprised if more people didn't trust him. How are we supposed to with an ability like that?" One of the guests, who Toby recognized as the sheriff, was saying. He winced a bit. Those had been some of his own thoughts. He knew that he meant no one harm, but how were they supposed to trust that? His talk with Tommy earlier had eased his insecurities a bit, but now they were rushing back, until the host spoke again.

"Detective Cara? Why don't you give us your thoughts on this?"

The second guest, the detective, nodded, "thank you.."

She glanced at the man next to her, then at the audience and camera before looking back at the host. "While I Understand what the sheriff over here means, I can't say that I agree. This hero, and he is a hero, has done nothing to indicate that we can't trust him. He's done nothing but help people, and potentially save lives.

"Our society has a bad habit of judging others for things outside of their control. This includes powers. They don't decide when they get their power, or what it is. We shouldn't judge them for that"

"But he's not in the registry! How can we trust someone who hides their identity? What does he have to hide exactly" the man glared, "With an evil power like that we should at least be cautious-"

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe he's not in the registry because he was scared? Scared how people like you would treat him? People who think like you?" Cara snapped back, "These powers aren't inherently good or evil, they're tools. Like a knife. A knife isn't evil. It can be used for evil purposes, but the concepts of good and evil themselves don't apply to it. It's about time that we stop putting people in boxes just because of what WE dictate is good and evil."

She paused, taking a breath, then nodded, "Uh, thank you-"

Toby was as shocked at her words as the host and sheriff looked, even Tommy looked awed.

"Holy shit-" the blonde boy whistled, "She knows what she's talking about!"

Phil grabbed the remote, turning the tv off. "Alright, time for bed, it's been a day, and you two still have school tomorrow-" he looked pointedly at Toby and Tommy.

"Oi! Wilbur has school too!!" Tommy scowled

"I don't have any morning classes tomorrow." The boy in question grinned cheekily

"Stupid Wilbur-" Tommy muttered

"Tommy-" Kristen warned

"Sorry-"

Toby chuckled, "It's alright, I was getting sleepy anyways.."

In all honesty, he had a headache coming on, and he wanted to get to bed before it got worse. So, after saying goodnight, he made his way to his room for the night.